What is the Golden Rule?

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Where does the Bible talk about the Golden Rule, and what does it mean for Christians today?

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What is the Golden Rule?

The Golden Rule is based on the principle Jesus Christ taught in Matthew 7:12Matthew 7:12Therefore all things whatever you would that men should do to you, do you even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.American King James Version×: “Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them,” adding, “for this is the Law and the Prophets.” The significance of Jesus Christ’s statement here is huge. What we call the Golden Rule is the summation of God’s entire way of life.

Why? Because God’s way is all about outgoing concern for others. That’s why Jesus Christ later says of the two great commandments (“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with your soul, and with all your mind” and “You shall love your neighbor as yourself”) that, “On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 22:37-40Matthew 22:37-4037 Jesus said to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.
38 This is the first and great commandment.
39 And the second is like to it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
American King James Version×).

God’s way is all about how to live the best possible life—and the Golden Rule provides us with the bare-bones version when it says, “Whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them.” It is the essence behind the last six of the Ten Commandments of God that show us how to truly love our neighbor as ourselves.